A review by swaye
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

4.0

“I like us. I like that we've got our own way of doing things.”

I join the ranks of those who are surprised at how much they ended up loving this book.

It honestly should be required reading for everyone who doesn't understand the daily struggle of what it's like for someone to live with debilitating anxiety and OCD. As someone who struggles with both, I resonated deeply with Aza and her ever-tightening spirals of invasive thoughts. I've been there and it did my heart good to see it so compassionately and well represented.

The relationships in this book are beautiful and heart-warming. I loved Aza's relationships with her mom, Davis and her best friend Daisy. Despite views to the contrary, I feel like teenagers do speak the way John Green writes them to speak. I certainly spoke and thought in the same way. And again, it felt good to see that reflected so beautifully on the page. This book is full of the most profound and wonderful quotes.

The reason Turtles doesn't get a 5 star rating from me is because I felt that the way the medications were dealt with was completely unrealistic. The truth is, Lexapro does help. In fact, it saved my life. It stops those spiraling thoughts from getting so completely out of control and there is no way she would have been coping physically had she been taking the meds so intermittently. Trust me, I know. It's impossible. The brain zaps and disorientation that happen if you skip a day are more than enough incentive to take them regularly.

Overall, though, a very sweet, sad, precious little book that will always stay with me.